The Isles
by Orpah
Summary: A series of oneshots about the history of the British Isles, all set before 1800.
1. Symbolic Rebellion

I don't own Hetalia! End/AN/

"I wasn't trying to start a war!"

Ireland cringed before England, blood oozing from the cut beneath her eye and skirt muddied from her flight through the wilderness. Her hands were on her twisted ankle. It had all been for naught, because England was stronger, faster, and altogether more powerful than she was.

He stood over her with his sword drawn, saying, "Well, you should have considered that before you started rebelling. All this over Catherine…"

"It's not just about Catherine! And it wasn't meant to overthrow you, you great dunce!" Ireland snapped, as if she'd forgotten her vulnerable position.

"Whatever it was meant to do, I am taking this threat very seriously. You don't defy my authority lightly, Ireland." England examined the sharp edge of his sword, as if wondering whether or not he could hack off her limbs with it. "I ought to remove your hands for this insolence."

"Please, I beg of you, mercy!" Ireland pleaded, defiant anger gone in an instant. "I promise I'll stop this rebellion and support you once again, only don't cut off my hands!"

England sighed, saying, "Very well, mercy granted. I won't cut off your hands."

Ireland's whole body sagged with relief, and she pushed her hair out of her face. "Thank the lord…" she murmured.

England sheathed his sword, but he didn't turn away. Instead, he walked to his horse, and pulled a club out of a saddlebag.

Ireland watched with a sinking feeling in her stomach, like the bottom had dropped away and her innards were falling down into the earth. "What's that for?"

"You don't really think I'd just let you get away with this, do you?" England brandished the club, eyeing Ireland's head.

She didn't get a chance to do anything but scream, before he began savagely beating her around the head.

By the time he was done, he left her an unconscious, bloody mess.

See if she defied his king once more.

/AN/ So, history time!

King Henry VIII of England was the 'Lord of Ireland' when he became king. This, however, was a mostly symbolic title; the Irish-Norman lords largely ruled themselves.

Henry decided that he should get to rule Ireland more directly, and about the time he was trying to divorce his wife, Catherine of Aragon, he had problems with a man called Garrett Og Fitzgerald, the most powerful man in Ireland. Garrett supported the Pope in Henry's attempt to annul the marriage between him and his queen Catherine, his father had supported the Yorks instead of the Tudors in years previous, and most importantly, he was very powerful.

So Henry had the man imprisoned in the Tower of London.

This lead to Garrett's son, Thomas Lord Offaly, to start a rebellion. However, this rebellion was supposed to be mostly symbolic, to prove that Henry needed the Fitzgeralds to rule Ireland.

Instead, Henry overreacted and sent a large army to put it down.

Thomas's allies deserted him, and he said he would stop rebelling in return for mercy from Henry. Henry agreed.

And then he killed most of the Fitzgeralds anyway.

This left a vacuum that was promptly filled with Henry's supporters.

More next time!


	2. Queen Catherine

I don't own Hetalia! End/AN/

England stood outside the door, waiting for the King. He had his hands clenched in his puffy shorts, red velvet with slits to show black velvet underneath. His breeches were decidedly matching, in a shade of red that went nicely.

But he couldn't help but think of the last time he had seen the Queen, in her threadbare gown, eyes still burning with determination but face tired, body weak.

"The King will see you now."

England nodded to the King's servant, and walked into the King's chambers.

Inside was magnificent, with golden inlays and velvet hangings and many, many pillows. This was the bed that Anne soiled with her presence, England thought with a sneer.

He was quick to drop it off of his face, as he saw his King seated in a chair. Things were considerably more informal between a country and their ruler, but that didn't mean he shouldn't show respect; England bowed, kissing his King's hand.

"What do you have to bother me with? I'm very busy," the King said, and the stink of his ulcer pervaded England's nose.

If Henry VIII weren't the king, England wasn't sure he'd had anything to do with him. "Please, your Majesty, I wish to see the Q—Princess Dowager, Catherine."

Queen Catherine, the Spanish Princess from over the sea; the gentle, motherly figure England had known for the past couple of decades. Now called Princess Dowager, as Henry sought to annul their marriage and rid himself of a woman too old to bear sons.

Henry's face seemed to heat up a bit, as he said, "She's not to have guests. You know that."

Anything about Catherine seemed to cause Henry to be ill-tempered, but England longed for her, and feared her death would be soon. He would never forgive himself if she died before he even got to say goodbye. "Please, Your Highness, I would not recognize her as the Queen, only as a friend… she is very dear to me."

This was a bit of a lie. England would not stop recognizing Catherine as Queen until the day he died. She was the rightful Queen, not Anne Boleyn, or as he and the common folk liked to call her, Nan Bullen.

The King rose with a groan, snapping, "You'll have nothing to do with her! It's enough the way the people react—don't you think I know that's your doing?"

"It's not my doing; the people and I feel the same way," England said quietly, though his heart was already sinking. Henry seemed determined to cut Catherine off from all outside interaction, as the Holy Roman Empire was seemingly poised to invade.

"You can't see her." The King said this flatly, turning away and looking to his right hand man.

"Why not? It will do no harm!" England argued, feeling his fists clench in anger. Why did Henry insist on treating his Queen like a piece of trash? Why did he torment her at every turn?

"You're not going! You're to see Queen Anne today," Henry said, voice daring England to protest.

But England was seeing red, as he hissed, "I'd never see that whore Anne Boleyn stand where my Queen should stand-!"

Henry's rings cut into his cheek, as he slapped him across the face. "You'll not talk about the Queen that way!"

"She's no queen!" England protested, tears coming to his eyes. He wanted Catherine to be here. He wanted to stop feeling in turmoil, he wanted to stop fearing the future like a child feared a beating from his father. He wanted to stop seeing horror everywhere.

"If you were anyone else," Henry growled, throwing his hands up and marching across the room. His jaw ground together audibly, as he snarled, "If you don't obey me, I will have you flogged."

Never had Henry threatened England this way. If England had been a normal person, he would have been beheaded by now, he was sure. He swallowed the lump in his throat, hands fisting in his in coat. "I wish to see Catherine…"

"You'll never see her again," Henry promised in a low, dangerous voice. "Now prepare to visit with Queen Anne."

England stumbled out of the room, wiping at his eyes.

He didn't know it then, but Henry was right. He never did see Queen Catherine again.

/AN/ So, history!

Henry VIII had six wives. The first was Catherine of Aragon, who he had a daughter with and a lot of babies who were either stillborn or died young. So, when she was too old to give him more sons, he fell in love with the bewitching Anne Boleyn; Anne Boleyn, however, was unlike any mistress he'd had before. She insisted on marriage.

So Henry decided that, based on the fact that Catherine had been previously married to his deceased brother (but without consummation, according to Catherine), their marriage was invalid. And he tried to get the Pope in Rome (at the time a fairly corrupt place) to annul their marriage so that he could marry Anne.

Trials were conducted, first at the Pope's behest, and then at Henry's. When the Pope said no, Henry split off from the Roman Catholic church and made himself head of the Church of England.

However, throughout all this, Catherine of Aragon refused to acknowledge that their marriage was annulled, or agree to leave quietly and join a convent.

Here's where the story bit comes in: the English people loved Queen Catherine, and abhorred Anne. Many saw Anne's marriage to the king as a sign of the end times, and there was a lot of anger about this.

Hope you liked it! There's more to come!


End file.
